Jun 6 One of my greatest fears...

I just listened to a webinar where a brave mama shared her story of battling breast cancer. Except she was 5 months pregnant when she was diagnosed. I mentioned the other day on facebook how one of my greatest fears is falling while holding my toddler (which happened) but that is a mini-fear compared to being told I have cancer while pregnant (I'm 6 months along now) and having to make a hard decision that affects two lives. Listening to this mom's story made me feel better (it worked out!) but I was crying within minutes. She had to wait until the last minute to start chemo and her baby was delivered by c-section 8 weeks early. She started chemo one week after her son was born (so for his first 4 weeks of life he was in NICU while mom was going to the treatment centre for chemo and then spending the rest of time with him).

Some of her costs included:

Hiring a live-in nanny for childcare and caregiving (in case she needed assistance)

Prescriptions -those not covered by MSP (ie. anti-nausea, special mouthwash, etc. if not covered by a group/private health plan or for the co-insurance). One of her injections (4x per week for 8 weeks) cost $300 per shot.

Wigs ($900 each)

She fortunately had Critical Illness Insurance and received a lump sum of money that lifted a huge burden off her shoulders. Not needing to worry about the immediate financial future (how to keep paying the mortgage, paying for the things above, losing her income while off work and waiting to satisfy the long-term disability requirement) was a huge burden lifted off her shoulders.

This is one of those stories that really drives home why I'm so passionate about Critical Illness Insurance [Globe and Mail article] and why I have three policies (different features) for myself and why I made sure there was coverage on the rest of my family as well.

As a Financial Planner, I look at the overall financial situations of clients and point out holes (spending too much on credit card interest; overcommitment to monthly financial commitments; lack of wills; exposure to risk in case of death, disability or illness). $1/day will get a healthy non-smoker in their 30s approximately $30,000 of Critical Illness Insurance coverage. Ask me for details for your situation so you at least have made a decision knowing your options.